December was a busy month, despite the holidays, snow days, and on-going King County concrete strike. Metal siding and roofing finished up on the outside of the building and install began on the main entry storefront systems. The building heat was turned-on, just in time for the arrival of the snow, and on the interior, finish work continued: drywall tape and mud, cabinetry installation, light fixtures, and grid support systems for the various acoustical components were installed. An air barrier pre-test was performed to gauge how close the project currently is to achieving its Passive House certification. Given the still sizable openings in the building at the time of testing, the ratings achieved were encouraging and assured the team that meeting Passive House requirements will be possible. Outside of the building, excavation of the various bio-retention planters began, and soil was brought in for the ROW improvements along Lake Washington Blvd E.

We are hopeful that January will bring an end to the concrete strike, negotiations will begin around the middle of the month and we should have more clarity at the endo f January. The strike is currently stalling progress on the remaining concrete elements of the project, including sidewalks, site stairs and bio-retention planters. Work will continue with the building which will include the install of classroom flooring and various accessories such as whiteboards, tackable surfaces, and sound-absorbing panels on the ceilings and walls. The custom mass plywood benches and workstations will be field-measured and installed. Plumbing fixtures such as toilets and sinks will begin to go in. Bleachers should arrive on-site towards the end of the month as well as the roof top mechanical screen enclosure. In the right-of-way, grass sod will be installed at the southwest corner of Harrison & Lake Washington and plantings will start going in.